Hey guys I just got this book for christmas.....I've been wanting it forever. What do you guys think of it, so far I love it and I'm already learning some more stuff...mostly about diet but its got some excersises i've never seen before in it.

Very enjoyable book, and it's a great exercise reference. But as for the training programs he has, I think most would agree they are a little bit waked...especially with all we know about training today. Nevertheless, it's still a good book.

Hey guys I just got this book for christmas.....I've been wanting it forever. What do you guys think of it, so far I love it and I'm already learning some more stuff...mostly about diet but its got some excersises i've never seen before in it.

It's a great book and another great book to read along with it is Bill Pearls "Keys to the Inner Universe" very complete and detailed. Bill gave me one of the first 10 editions after it's was published!

How is it possible to train legs 3 times a week or chest or anything 3 times a week the way he supposedly did? that guy did chest for like 2 hours, rested one day and then did it again. rested one day then did it again. then took 2 days off.

I don't believe he ever trained that way at all. Arnold was known for giving people mis-information to have every edge possible. i'm sure he's been lying all these years saying that he trained that way. i'm sure lots of bodybuilders lie about how they train. i remember watching the arnold classic on tv in 1999 and this one guy i dont remember who it was said that he works out 11 hours a day.

Minimization of fatigue is key when you want to incorporate multiple workouts per week. Weightlifters squat 3-5 times a week. The Bulgarian system called for squatting each training day. Of course they kept their reps low (mostly singles, doubles and a few triples). No high rep failure training.

I made the greatest size gains in my legs when I trained them twice a week. I was careful to minimize low back fatigue. I was doing some kind of pulling movement everyday and squatting 2x weekly. I could constantly feel my back. Eventually one adapts or decides to chicken out and cut back on frequency. Given that all the pro BB'ers are doing drugs it is easy to see how they could sustain such workouts.

Plus it is their job. I always make the greatest strength gains during the summers when I had not a thing to do. Once school begins my gains slow down. A lot of pros keep day jobs but thats not a priority it just helps with their grocery bills. School is my priority and I might only be getting 6 hrs sleep and not 9 hours after a big squat day.

yeah that is hard....but as long as you know what your doing it doesn't take long...i think i could just moderatly body build throught school and still know how to go hard when i have time in my life to do it. funny thing is though i won't let anything get in the way of slowing me down and it can be bad

great book, very entertaining...however i didnt get much out of it.....the training he had in there was downright INSANE....ARNOLD was the freak of all freaks, i really dont know how he hit everything that hard 3 times a week and actually grew....dont see how that would work for anyone but arnold himself....i tried his chest / back superset routine and it was freakin sick, the pump was insane ( but theres no way anyone but him could do this 3 x week), i guess i would say some of the training info is good but the frequencies he reccomends would kill anyone (and probably do nothing but make them smaller)

i have never tried the chest/back super set but i hear its hard. I really like arnold's book but i don't think ill be changing my workout schedule at all maybe try some new excersises like today i tried reverse preacher curls which were pretty good.

I received my first copy in 1985. Thought then and still think the book is excellent. I have the hard back and the soft cover. Here is as story to go with:

I traveled out to Oregon for the first time just after getting Arnold's book. While in Southern Oregon I found out Bill Pearl lived there so I called his place to set up a meet with him, as a fan. Bill was his normal cordial and modest self and spent a good amount of time with me. During the course of conversing, I blurted out something like "Hey, have you seen or read Arnold's Encyclopedia?". I will never forget Bill's response it went something like "Yeah, I have seen it, it is almost an exact copy of my 'Keys to the Inner Universe', only not as complete." Man, did I ever feel like a dumba**!!! I had checked out Bill's "Keys" about 6-7 months before, I felt like running out of the room. Bill was just stating the truth, Keys is much more complete.